Food Security

Food is recognized as a basic human right in the Kenyan constitution. The lack of or inadequate food consumption has serious implications on general body health and well-being, growth and development.

Food insecurity is a threat to overall human well-being, as well as efforts geared toward economic growth and poverty alleviation. The concept of food security is multidimensional, encompassing food availability, affordability, adequacy, safety and quality. In Kenya, about 10 million people are said to be food insecure. Therefore food security continues to be an important national policy issue in Kenya. One of the government priorities is to make food available to all its citizens, yet it has had to grapple with several challenges including, low local supply, post-harvest losses, high prices on food imports and poverty among others. The country has in the recent years faced frequent and recurrent food security challenges resulting from, among other things, spiraling food prices, high input prices, prolonged and severe droughts, and high inflation rates. As a result, a large section of the population, and particularly vulnerable groups such as the pastoralists, internally displaced people, and the poor have had to grapple with inadequate access to food, sometimes resulting into severe hunger and loss of life. Tegemeo Institute recognizes the importance of food security in the development of the Kenyan economy. To this end, the Institute has conducted research that has informed policy makers on the short term, mid-term and long term policies instruments/intervention that would help to address food insecurity. As the country continues to develop, the Institute will continue to conduct research on food security to inform policy makers and other stakeholder on how to tackle this challenge. Some of the research that has been carried out by the Institute includes: